Page 48 of So I Dared a Dragon

Tina furrowed her brow, and I expected her to step in and change the subject or at least remind me it was her job to ask the questions, but she didn’t. She wanted the answer too.

“It’s a fertility idol. And it’s definitely lived up to the hype—bringing Gabe and me together, and you know Marissa stillblames it for her accepting Bjorn’s advances—but seriously, have you seen the big, gorgeous polar bear? There was only so long she’d be able to resist him.”

“Right, but why you? And why now?” I leaned closer. I wasn’t giving up until I could connect all the ancient dots. “As an archeologist and a librarian” —I’d include Laura in this too—“you must have wondered what the significance is.”

It took Wendy a moment to answer. “At the time, it seemed serendipitous, but there were wolves who wanted to take it from us, so I’m not sure if I was the intended recipient.”

That was interesting. I thought back to the drama from Wendy’s episode—it had been edited to look like a land dispute. A developer who’d wanted to build, and shifters preserving their way of life.

“What do you think would’ve happened if you hadn’t found the Hudaknocker? If the real estate mogul got his paws on it first?”

Wendy leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh. “I have to wonder if he was working with the dire wolves that challenged Lars.”

“Ooh, yeah.” Tina’s brows raised sky high. “I bet he was. And if they’d had the Hudaknocker, they might have been able to do more than just revive ancient beasts—they could’ve used that DNA to create new ones.”

My mind was spinning, and I didn’t need to feel self-conscious when we talked about Hudaknockers and zombie shifters—no theory I could throw out could be more outrageous than what these ladies had already experienced.

“But why these ancient beasts?” All the answers gave me more questions. Better questions, though, which made me think we were getting there. “Is their DNA stronger?”

Laura and Wendy looked at each other.

“It would be different than modern human and shifters’ genetic makeup, sure,” Wendy offered. Her words were slow, like her thoughts formed as she was saying them.

The scales throbbed. Okay, we were getting warmer.

“All creatures adapt, and of course, we’ve been changed by environmental influences. And as we all breed, those genetics take on the strongest characteristics needed in the environment,” she added.

“Our research and contact with the creatures that lived during that time has also shown us that mating outside of your own kind was prohibited,” Laura added. “And also, forbidding the practice did little to stop it.”

“Okay, so what if the dragons have something to do with this?” I offered. “Aarix’s thunder was brought underground to serve a Night God—the same one who, in modern pagan lore, is responsible for the winter solstice. He captured the dragons to punish them when their goddess didn’t return his advances. Would all thunders worship the same goddess?”

“A version of her, most definitely. I’ve always been amazed at how similar the ancient traditions and oral histories stay, even when the packs—or, in this case, thunder—would’ve have very little contact with each other.” Wendy pushed the book aside and focused on me. “A goddess would be bigger than time and space.”

“Okay, so we have a motive.” I cursed myself for not asking Aarix more questions when we were together before, and for blocking out the dark horrors I witnessed in that mountain instead of absorbing them, learning from them.

I needed to get in touch with Darcy. She would know things none of the rest of us would. The only question was if she’d be willing to talk about her time in the mountain.

“The Smoky Mountain thunder had been tasked with mining minerals from the earth to give power to the Night God. He had a human form too—”

“Right, as that country music singer,” Tina said. “He always came off as an egotistical prick, and now we know why.”

“But he wanted to get himself in front of a crowd. A lot of people. Strong emotion.” The scales were prickling on my arm, confirming that I was onto something. “It’s entirely possible he needed something else from the Rocky Mountain dragons.”

Again, Laura and Wendy looked at each other, like they were silently assessing my claim, and they both nodded.

“Were the dire wolves important to their pack in their time?” I asked.

“One of them was an alpha, but don’t forget, we had a reemergence of an ancient shifter king,” Wendy said. “Lars’s brother Leif.”

“The legends thought the Shifter King had destroyed the ancient relics, therefore making the shifters mortal,” Laura said. “We had thought Lars had been the only one who’d survived that time.”

“The Night God is still alive,” I reminded them. “He’s agreed to play nice. Spoiler alert—he didn’t get the girl. Her true mate liberated her from the mountain and they’re living happily ever after in Summerland, Tennessee. Why would he have agreed to give these dragons their freedom if he didn’t have a solid plan B?”

Surprised looks blossomed around the table.

“You think he’ll come back for more?” Wendy asked. “Or he’s using these dragons as fuel for his latest plan?”

“I’m not sure.” I was purely spitballing, and it was dangerous. But it was the first thing that started to tie all the elements together and make them make sense. “My other thought was what if now these ancient, powerful creatures had seen theconsequences of their actions, and they thought they could fix their mistakes if they got all their power in one place?”

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